Reciting Surah al-Mulk: Sheikh bin Baaz

The following question was posed to sheikh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz bin Baaz:

السؤال: هل أقرأ سورة تبارك قبل النوم كل ليلة، وهل ينجي الله بها من فعل ذلك من عذاب القبر؟ ـ

Question: Should I recite surah Tabaarak [i.e. surah al-Mulk] every night before sleeping? And is is true that through such an action Allah saves whoever does that from the punishment of the grave?

الجواب: سورة تبارك لها شأن عظيم، وإذا قرأها فقد جاء فيها حديث يدل على فضلها وأنها تشهد لصاحبها يوم القيامة، لكن إنما تنفعه قراءتها وقراءة القرآن إذا عمل بذلك، أما إذا قرأها ولم يعمل فلا تنفعه؛ لقوله ﷺ: القرآن حجة لك أو عليك حجة لك إن عملت به وحجة عليك إذا لم يعمل به، فإذا قرأ القرآن أو قرأ سورة الكهف أو تبارك وهو مضيع لأمر الله ومرتكب لمعاصي الله فهو على خطر عظيم، فلا يكون القرآن حجة له بل يكون حجة عليه فيما أضاع. ـ

Response:Surah Tabaarak has tremendous merit, as does reciting it. There is a hadith which shows its virtue, which is that, on the Day of Recompense, it will bear witness for the one who recited it.

However, reciting surah Tabaarak or reciting the Qur’an will only be of benefit if one acts according to it. As for the one who recites it but does not act accordingly, then it will not be of benefit to him.

An Example of Reconciling Different Explanations from the Salaf: Sheikh Muhammad Bazmool

Sheikh Muhammad Bazmool, a professor at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca, wrote:

مثال لتفسير الصحابي: ابن عمر رضي الله عنه، وتفسير لرجل من أتباع أتباع التابعين الفضيل بن عياض رحمه الله في قوله تعال: (لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا)؛ ـ

Here is an example of the tafsir of a Companion is that of ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), as well as the tafsir from someone of the generation of the Atbaa’ al-Taabi’een, al-Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyyaadh (may Allah have mercy on him), regarding Allah’s statement:

لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا

that He may test you, which of you is best in deed [67:2]

روي عن ابن عمر وجاء مرفوعا و لا يصح، أنه قال: “(وأحسن عَمَلًا): أَحْسَنُ عَقْلًا، وَأَوْرَعُ عَنْ مَحَارِمِ اللَّهِ، وَأَسْرَعُ فِي طَاعَةِ الله”. وقال الفضيل بْنُ عِيَاضٍ: أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا أَخْلَصُهُ وَأَصْوَبُهُ. ـ

It is transmitted from ibn ‘Umar – and it has also been attributed to the Prophet, though not authentically – that he explained:

 أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا

… best in deed

to mean, “best in intellect, most detached from that which Allah has forbade, and quickest to obey Allah.” While al-Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyyaadh explained it as, “Best in deed – that is, the most sincere and correct of deeds.”